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Tip of the Month

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Tip of the Month – June 2026

Three teats, fourth teat present or actually not?

Do we still need to properly configure whether the fourth teat is present or not on the VMS V300?

With the VMS Classic, we know that this is very important.

Whether you have entered “present or not present” for a three-teat cow: the VMS V300 has no trouble attaching her.

However, if the fourth teat is set to “present,” after milking it wants to disinfect all teats marked as present …

And if that teat is (almost) completely gone, it doesn’t see it and, after some searching, starts spraying “blindly” and making a circle. In doing so, the camera arm sometimes touches the leg, and the cow doesn’t like that at all. And neither will you, because it uses more disinfectant and doesn’t even land on the teats as precisely as you are used to…

So with the V300, for the three teats as well, make sure to correctly enter whether the fourth teat is actually present or not (anymore).

And of course: check occasionally if the spray is landing properly on the tip of the teat!
A little clogged and it sprays next to the teats….

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Tip of the Month – Mai 2026

Long, enjoyable VMS visit.

Ensure the cow enjoys the “entire milking session” in the VMS.

Take the feed rate into account; ensure she hasn’t finished her portion before milking starts, so what is the feed rate per minute set to?

Depending on amount concentrates, max 0.30 – 0.40 kg per minute.

And is she still entitled to a reasonable portion at the last milking session?

That means the maximum portion per milking session should not be set too high.
Depending on the ration at the feed barrier: 2.00 – 3.00 kg maximum.

Does she really hate the teatcleaning? If she is clean enough, the pre-treatment can be set lighter. For example, with new heifers.
(Standard setting remains best for clean teats and oxytocin!)

Is the walk-in gate not too tight, and is the feed trough in the VMS in the correct position? Is the cow standing relaxed?

Does she have to make strange turn before or after robot? => Rubber mat / grates.

Are certain pipes or fences very smooth and clean in places, while others are dirty? Why?

Is this due to the cows’ walking route or perhaps grounding?

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Tip of the Month – April 2026

Sharing experiences.

Occasionally, we receive questions such as:

  • My somatic cell count won’t drop below 150
  • My Germ count fluctuates a lot or is actually too high.
  • My acidity level in milk is too high.
  • I still have quite a few cows / heifers to collect.
  • It takes a long time for the heifers to come in 3 times a day after calving.
  • Colleagues have seen a much greater increase in milk production since getting the milking robot than we have?
  • The number of milkings drops quite significantly after the cows go out to pasture.
  • ………………………………..

 

Do you also have questions like these?

There is so much experience by now, and there are so many colleagues who don’t have these problems or have a solution for it!

Take your questions to colleagues, your advisor, or study meetings.

Of course, much of the information is already available somewhere on this website; your question can often be found using the search function.

And: Be open to solutions 😉

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Tip of the Month – March – 2026

Cow Traffic Score.

Do you think (some of) your cows could use the robot / feed fence more often?

During my farm visits, I often use the 10-point score:
Your cow gets 10 points.
If she’s not walking very well, we deduct 2-5 points, depending on the severity.

If there’s little space around the robot to get in or the robot is too crowded, we deduct another points.
If the basic ration doesn’t taste good, or she’s on the verge of rumen acidosis, we deduct another 2-5 points.

If the robot isn’t milking optimally, or if parts are worn, etc., we deduct another point.

There are other factors, such as illness, bedding comfort, and routing, that can result in (penalty) points.

The fewer deduction points the better!

How many points do your (collected) cows have left?

This method can provide insight into assessing your cows’ robot visits.

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Tip of the Month – February 2026

Shut down and restart the robots and computer regularly.

We know it’s good to completely shut down and restart the robot(s) and computer occasionally. We know that’s good, but when do we do it?

A technician advised using that moment to shut down everything when replacing the teat liners. This way, it happens regularly and takes almost no time!

Make sure you give the system time to drain all (leakage) power.

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